Teens spruce up downtown Escondido Creek trail

Volunteer Berenice Muro, 12, right, of Escondido, along with others, pick up trash along the side of the Escondido Creek Bike Path. The event was sponsored by the County of San Diego Health and Human Service Agency (HHSA), Communities of Excellence in Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity Prevention project, in partnership with Escondido Education COMPACT, the CARE Youth Project and Reveal Escondido Creek.
— Howard Lipin

Volunteer Berenice Muro, 12, right, of Escondido, along with others, pick up trash along the side of the Escondido Creek Bike Path. The event was sponsored by the County of San Diego Health and Human Service Agency (HHSA), Communities of Excellence in Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity Prevention project, in partnership with Escondido Education COMPACT, the CARE Youth Project and Reveal Escondido Creek.
— Howard Lipin

ESCONDIDO  More than 100 people, most of them teenagers, fanned out across 12 blocks of the Escondido Creek trail in the heart of the city Saturday morning to pick up trash, promote healthy eating, and to bring a sense of community to the area.

The idea is simple. Trails promote walking, walking promotes health, and nobody wants to walk along a filthy trail.

“This is about stewardship and taking care of our community and taking care of ourselves at the same time,” said Dr. Nick Yphantides, San Diego County’s chief medical officer.

“An event like this is a great way to build community, clean community and also take care of yourself. I love the combination of doing fun and productive things that are also physically healthy.”

The morning-long cleanup was organized by a program with maybe the longest name conceivable. The County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency’s Communities of Excellence in Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity Prevention project is a grant-driven program that assesses a community’s “walkability and safety” and then takes steps to address the problems.

The Escondido Creek Trail runs through the city and often is used by kids on their way to school and elsewhere. It’s also used by a number of homeless people, is frequently the target of graffiti, which is quickly erased by city workers, and can get pretty trash-filled.

The teens that helped clean up the part of the trail that runs from Broadway to the west and Midway Drive to the east, were mostly students at the city’s three high schools.

They were getting credit toward the community service they to graduate, but most genuinely seemed happy about what they were doing.

“They’re kids, teens, parents, families out here trying to clean up the creek and really enjoying themselves,” said Betsy Rosales, 16, of Escondido High School.

“It was a lot of fun ... The future of Escondido was here cleaning up.”

Other organizations involved in the cleanup included Escondido Education COMPACT, the CARE Youth Project and Reveal Escondido Creek. The city provided funds for trash bags, gloves and other equipment. After they were done the kids also enjoyed going to several booths set up in the Fresh & Easy parking lot on North Ash which provided educational information about healthy eating.

Health and Human Services Deputy Director Chuck Matthews said creating a walkable community can’t be done by just one group.

“Cops can’t do it by themselves,” he said. “No one entity can. These kids have to walk it every day to school. They know what needs to be done, and now they have a voice and a say.”